Men's Hoops: Losing Streak Reaches Five

Sam Webb

02/02/2005

The Michigan Wolverines lost the fifth consecutive game Wednesday night, <strong>falling
to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 71-54.</strong>

The tail of woe for the Michigan basketball team continued Wednesday night
in their home match-up with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Wolverines attempted
to stem this recent tide with a players only meeting in the wake of their embarrassing
29-point loss in West Lafayette. They hoped that the candor with which teammates
spoke to one another would stimulate better play. Tommy Amaker shook up the
starting lineup, replacing Dion Harris and Courtney Sims with Sherrod Harrell
and Brent Petway, in an attempt to achieve that same end. Unfortunately for
the Maize and Blue, neither move accomplished the desired effect.

The Wolverines played well early, taking a 7-6 lead on a Ronald Coleman three-pointer
at the 17:07 mark, but the Gophers came right back. They reclaimed the lead
on a couple of Jeff Hagen free throws. The team's battled to a stalemate over
the next minute-plus, but the visitors did not let the Wolverines stay close
for long.

Minnesota sprinted out on a 10-2 run over the next four and a half minutes
to claim a 22-12 lead at the 11:21 mark. The Wolverines would answer, though,
as Chris Hunter and John Andrews combined for nine points straight points to
cut the lead to three 24-21 with just under seven minutes to go. The Wolverines
seemingly had the momentum at that point, but they could not maintain their
offensive efficiency.

The Gophers, on the other hand, found their mark and ended the half with a
14-6 run and headed into the locker room with a 38-27 lead.

Dan Monson's club started picked up right where they left off in the second
half, opening the stanza with a 7-2 run to take a 16 point lead (46-29). The
Wolverines seemed to be on the ropes, but they managed a brief comeback.

The home team chipped into the lead when Chris Hunter scored five points on
a 7-0 run that cut the lead to single digits (47-38) at the 12:19 mark, but
they would get no closer. Minnesota responded with a 6-2 run over the next three
minutes and cruised to the 71-54 victory.

Chris Hunter led the Wolverines with 17 points and five rebounds while Jeff
Hagen led the Gophers with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Neither Harris
nor Sims scored a single point, and Sims only saw 10 minutes of action. For
more on the game, click the following links: Boxscore,
Notes,
Quotes.

Michigan's losing streak now stands at five games. They will look to right
the ship on the road versus this Saturday versus the Ohio State Buckeyes.